Expeditor for Pemits in Town of Hempstead

Has anyone successfully used an expeditor in the TOH to have permits approved quicker? If so, who did you use and was it worth it?

Thanks!

Re: Expeditor for Pemits in Town of Hempstead

I recommend Mike Gregory all the time to my clients. 516-303-9000. His email, I believe, is [email protected].

Expediters definitely know how to get things done in the quickest and easiest way. They are not cheap. Mike Gregory will come and look at the issue and give a complimentary assessment as to how long he thinks it will take (based on what has to be done) and what it will cost.

Whether or not you should use one depends on a lot of factors. What is the issue? Is it closing out an open permit or is it a more compicated issue (will you need a variance)? Is time of the essence (are you selling a house)? Are you someone who has the time and willingness to stay on top of this process yourself? Sometimes it's frustrating to deal with the town.

Expeditor for Pemits in Town of Hempstead

Thanks for your response. Where do I begin!! We are adding an addition (dormer) and demo'ing our whole first floor. We believe now, that the contractor we bought the house from years ago, didn't get all the proper permits to build. It appears the last survey done was a year prior to him rebuilding the house (which is probably our fault for not realizing) and our house, according to our surveyor, now has front and back steps, a deck and shed that were not part of the original survey. We want to submit our permits to get this process going but we are afraid that we are going to have some major issues due to the undocumented changes to the home.

Re: Expeditor for Pemits in Town of Hempstead

So if I understand what you are saying -- you are planning to have some major renovations done to your house (dormer, etc.) that you want to have done legally with permits and C/Os (and with that type of extensive renovation, you should). And you are concerned that previous improvements were done without getting C/Os (like the deck)?

If you want to know for sure what has C/Os or not, you can go to the town and pay $25 to get copies of all C/Os and open permits for the property. Or you can submit a FOIL request (public records request) via mail, but it takes longer. That way, you will know for sure what does/doesn't have C/Os.

Once you start your new renovations, and have the town inspectors come on to your property to issue C/Os for the dormer and/or extension, they will see the other improvements and you will be required to legalize everything on the property (or get rid of it). I don't think you would need an expediter for this... most people just use them if time is of the essence (e.g., a sale) or if it's overly complicated (e.g., you need a variance. If it turns out you do need a variance (which may be the case - for example if the deck is too large or built to close to a property line), then you may want to hire an expediter to streamline the process for you.

If you want to get a jump on everything, you can have an expediter come take a look now and give you an estimate as to how easy/hard and how costly it will be to get C/Os for everything. Many will come out for a no-charge initial consultation (Mike Gregory will).

Expeditor for Pemits in Town of Hempstead

This is VERY helpful!! Thank you so much!

Re: Expeditor for Pemits in Town of Hempstead

Re: Expeditor for Pemits in Town of Hempstead

I purchased a home from an owner that hired Greg to draw their construction plans which he did. Unfortunately they were not able to complete the project and needed to sell. I called Greg to hire and pay him to make some changes to the existing plans he had already drawn that would have taken him 3-6 hours max and that being generous. I contacted Greg and left messages numerous times only to have him return my call after a 3 week span. Once he called back he seemed very nice over the phone and agreed to meet me at the home and take on the changes.
We met at the home and spent about 1 1/2 hours making about 10 changes to the interior floor plan. Nothing drastic i might add. When we were done i asked Greg to let me know what he wanted to charge and i will send him upfront payment ASAP. I even offered to pay him with a check i had in my pocket on the spot. He said he would let me know a price and call me back within the next day or two. But to no avail all i hear are crickets so i reach out to him and continue to get his voicemail each time.
At this point it was 2 weeks later and i was leaving for a 2 week vacation so i was at his mercy to get back to me when he could. About 5 days into my trip i get a return phone call from Greg but unfortunately i was on a 6 hour time difference and my phone was off so he left me a voicemail. He stated that he decided not to take the job because he obtained 2 larger jobs that were going to be taking up his time.
When i awoke and received his message i was so angry because not only did he cost me a month of the home sitting without being able to work on the home i also had to try and hire a new architect to draw new plans for the entire home which cost me an additional $6000 because the Town of Hempstead requires this and another $7000 in permits, taxes and insurance because the house was left sitting. I called him numerous times pleading my case to please have him complete the job and that i was willing to pay him extra money for his time. Again crickets.
If you have an upcoming project and are in need of an architect stay clear of Greg Isola. He obviously has no concern for peoples needs, never once answered the phone when called and cost me over $13,000 and months of time when all he needed to do from that start was to tell me he didn't want the job and i would have hired someone else.

Expeditor for Pemits in Town of Hempstead

I purchased a home from an owner that hired Greg to draw their construction plans which he did. Unfortunately they were not able to complete the project and needed to sell. I called Greg to hire and pay him to make some changes to the existing plans he had already drawn that would have taken him 3-6 hours max and that being generous. I contacted Greg and left messages numerous times only to have him return my call after a 3 week span. Once he called back he seemed very nice over the phone and agreed to meet me at the home and take on the changes.
We met at the home and spent about 1 1/2 hours making about 10 changes to the interior floor plan. Nothing drastic i might add. When we were done i asked Greg to let me know what he wanted to charge and i will send him upfront payment ASAP. I even offered to pay him with a check i had in my pocket on the spot. He said he would let me know a price and call me back within the next day or two. But to no avail all i hear are crickets so i reach out to him and continue to get his voicemail each time.
At this point it was 2 weeks later and i was leaving for a 2 week vacation so i was at his mercy to get back to me when he could. About 5 days into my trip i get a return phone call from Greg but unfortunately i was on a 6 hour time difference and my phone was off so he left me a voicemail. He stated that he decided not to take the job because he obtained 2 larger jobs that were going to be taking up his time.
When i awoke and received his message i was so angry because not only did he cost me a month of the home sitting without being able to work on the home i also had to try and hire a new architect to draw new plans for the entire home which cost me an additional $6000 because the Town of Hempstead requires this and another $7000 in permits, taxes and insurance because the house was left sitting. I called him numerous times pleading my case to please have him complete the job and that i was willing to pay him extra money for his time. Again crickets.
If you have an upcoming project and are in need of an architect stay clear of Greg Isola. He obviously has no concern for peoples needs, never once answered the phone when called and cost me over $13,000 and months of time when all he needed to do from that start was to tell me he didn't want the job and i would have hired someone else.